chapter 8

"Scully, he's your *husband*?" Mulder questioned, trying desperately to keep his voice low enough so as to not catch the attention of the alleged "husband."

"Yes, Donald Gordon. My husband. I need to go talk to him." Scully said as she stood up from the booth, intending to walk up to the man.

"No, Scully, let's wait. We have to go, now."

"No!" Scully protested, but Mulder was already ushering her out of the diner. He dropped a twenty dollar bill on the table, grabbed the baby, and led Scully out of the door.

"I have to go back in there!" Scully started shouting. "He's my husband. I have to see Donald!"

Mulder, after buckling the baby into the car seat, had to forcibly hold Scully back from entering the diner. His thoughts were racing through his head at record speed. He was confused. For once, he did not have any strange theories. For once, Mulder was completely stumped.

He finally managed to get Scully into the car. He ran to the other side and turned the ignition. He drove to the Lone Gunman's office. If anyone could call it an office. Mulder got out of the car and grabbed the baby. Scully obediently followed, though she was still distraught over Mulder's refusal to let her speak to Donald. Once Mulder reintroduced Scully to the three men, he sat down at a computer screen with Langly.

"Can you do a background check?" Mulder asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Do you have a name?"

"Donald Gordon."

Langly typed in the name and hit search. A picture popped up on the screen along with the

man's statistics.

"Is this your guy?"

Mulder nodded. "Does he have a criminal record?"

Langly looked it up and read it aloud. "Three counts of rape, all different occasions, petty theft, illegal gambling, and polygamy."

"Polygamy?" Mulder asked, confused. "That is not very common. What else does it say?"

"He was educated at Yale. He has a Ph.D. in religion. It appears that Gordon served as the president of a Mormon church in Utah."

"Can you get any more information on his job as president?" Mulder interjected.

Langly's fingers busily hit the keys. He clicked the mouse and began to read off the information from the screen. "He was removed from this position by the parishioners. After that, he broke off and formed his own church, which he said is a new sect of the Mormon Church. From what I can see here, it is a radical group that is made up of some of the people from his former church. This," Langly said, clicking on another link, "says that residents of a nearby town complained about bonfires. Investigators said that the bonfires appeared to be ritualistic in nature. Driven out of Utah by continuous complaints against them, Gordon and his followers travel around the country 'proclaiming the word of God.' This lady, Ann Franklin, says that she used to be one of Gordon's followers. She said that 'Gordon's beliefs and practices are radical. It's like a cult. He teaches the belief of polygamy. But only for men. My husband and I were both his followers. We didn't have a clear grasp of reality at that time. It was almost like we were hypnotized by his words. He gave us answers. It was just so easy.'"

Langly finished reading the screen and looked at Mulder, "It looks like we have a holy psycho on

our hands."

"Where is Ann Franklin now?"

Langly turned to the screen. "Dead."

"Dead? How old was she?"

"Thirty-six. Ann and her husband were found dead in their homes three weeks after this interview."

"Okay, so Scully was part of a cult...none of this explains her abduction. How did she end up with Donald and then again, she was found in the warehouse. None of this makes sense."

Langly looked at Mulder, then turned and looked up at Byers and Frohike. None of them had any ideas. Once again, Mulder was stumped.

"Either way, Mulder," Byers broke the silence, "I don't recommend letting Scully or her baby anywhere near Gordon. Why don't you take her home? Frohike, Langly, and I will continue to research Gordon and his quote 'religion' and we'll call you if you find anything. You should focus on helping Scully regain her memory."

Mulder glanced at Scully, whose attention was turned to the baby. "Okay, but you have to call as soon as you discover anything."

"Will do."

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I need at least...um...four reviews if you want the next chapter!!!

Author's notes: Okay, first of all, I don't mean to step on anybody's toes with this post. I want everyone to know that the Mormon Church is not some cult that promotes multiple wives for a man. I was inspired to use the Mormon Church after reading an article in Vanity Fair about Elizabeth Smart's abductor. A couple who used to be the abductor's followers discusses how they believed things that they would not have otherwise and how easy it is to believe the lies that the guy said. It was in the latest issue of Vanity Fair. If you guys are interested in this, please read it. Vanity Fair explains it a lot better than I can. All religions have their extremists, their radicals. All religions has their faults. I mean, look at mine! The Catholic Church is dealing with all of the molestation from priests. Eww. So anyway, comments are appreciated, flames are welcomed, I just wanted you to understand that I have nothing against the Mormon Church, so no need to make accusations of that.

additional a/n: thanks to c. f. lewis for catching my mistake on the whole pastor/president thing